Jan. 29, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Eight members of the Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team remain ranked nationally by Intermat, seven of whom appear in the top eight at their respective weights. Coming off a 33-9 home win over Nebraska, Penn State continues to hold the No. 1 team ranking on Intermat's Tournament Power Index (TPI). The full list of national rankings is available at www.intermatwrestle.com.
Penn State is ranked No. 1 with 101.5 points on Intermat's TPI while Oklahoma State is second with 100.5. Iowa sits in third place with 91.5. No other team breaks the 65 point mark on the list.
Sophomore All-American Nico Megaludis (Murrysville, Pa.) is ranked No. 2 at 125 with a 16-1 record, including four pins, two tech falls and three majors. Sophomore Andrew Alton (Mill Hall, Pa) is 17-1 and ranked No. 8 at 149. Alton has ten pins, two techs and three majors. Sophomore All-American Dylan Alton (Mill Hall, Pa.) is ranked No. 5 at 157 with a 17-2 mark, eight pins and a major.
Defending NCAA Champion and two-time All-American David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) is ranked No. 2 at 165 and is 17-1 with eight pins, a major and seven tech falls. Sophomore Matt Brown (West Valley City, Utah) is ranked No. 4 at 174 and is 17-2 with five pins, two tech falls and five majors. Defending NCAA Champion and two-time All-American Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) is ranked No. 1 nationally at 184 with a 19-0 mark. Ruth has seven pins, three techs and five majors. Three-time All-American Quentin Wright (Wingate, Pa) is ranked No. 3 at 197 with an 18-0 record, including eight pins and two majors. Sophomore heavyweight Jon Gingrich (Wingate, Pa.) is ranked No. 17 at 285 with a 14-5 record.
Penn State now hits the road for most of February, beginning with a Feb. 1 date at No. 3 Iowa. The Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes tangle at 9 p.m. (Eastern) on Friday in a dual that airs live on the Big Ten Network. Sanderson and crew then head to No. 8 Illinois for a 2 p.m. (Eastern) dual on Sunday, Feb. 3. Penn State's only remaining dual meet is Sunday, Feb. 17, when Rider visits Rec Hall. The dual is sold out but a limited number of SRO tickets may be available. For availability, fans can call 1-800-NITTANY or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office windows from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Fans are encouraged to follow Penn State wrestling via twitter at www.twitter.com/pennstateWREST and on Penn State Wrestling's facebook page at www.facebook.com/pennstatewrestling. The 2012-13 Penn State Wrestling season is presented by The Family Clothesline.